First, you do take vacations, don’t you?
I had a business partner who once told me “I haven’t been out of the office for more than 10 days in a row in 10 years” as if it was some kind of badge of honor. There’s no honor in dying at your desk. There’s no honor in placing work over everything. He also told me “I’ve never been in a fistfight in my life” and if anyone needs to experience being punched in the nose, it’s this guy…But I’ll save that topic for another week.
We just got back from vacation. I used to struggle with taking vacations. Not to the extent described above, but I would stress about costs, logistics, and that when we travel it really hits me that I’m the “man responsible” for the safety and enjoyment of my family. I keep looking for my dad to be there to lead, pay and make sure everything goes smoothly like when I was a kid, but apparently that’s my role now…
Part of maximizing Midlife (or any stage) is being able to focus on being productive, not busy. Including vacation. Getting the right shit done, saying no to everything else, delegating effectively, and being efficient with each activity/responsibility.
Here are a few ways I’m able to maximize my time and enjoy my vacation:
I’m racked out by 9p every night. I much prefer day overnight and filling mornings and days with activities, ending with a big family dinner and then getting great sleep. We book one activity per day – I love the scenery – being on the beach and around beautiful people – I don’t enjoy commuting, mediocre and expensive meals, dressing up, paying for alcohol, crowds, security – so we had a chef each night – no masks, no worries, sweat pants, exactly what we wanted to eat – was ideal.
6a wake up – I always hydrate before I caffeinate and use @drinklmnt @athleticgreens @strongcoffeecompany daily.
Then I’ll usually journal and review notes/ideas for the newsletter & podcast.
Check & send emails – I’m now a beginning and end of day email guy. Really working hard at not checking “all day”. If you can take it off your phone, I recommend it. All vacations are working vacations. Especially when you love what you do, Who you’re doing it with, and who you’re doing it for!
30 min mobility session. Just moving and flowing has made a huge impact on how my body feels. I’m focused way more on restorative movements at this point. Every day starts with movement – I don’t push the boys – I knock on their doors and tell them I’m starting – whether they get up and join is on them. By day 4 they were all getting in on it –
Nutrition and health – There is no one way to approach this, nor should there be – I just turn up/turn down the volume depending on where I am, what we have access to and what I want to do – I let go more on vacation but not at the expense of feeling bad – that’s different from not letting go because I want to stay a certain weight or look a certain way – I go on feel – I don’t drink much bc I feel like crap – when I take CBD, THC or delta8 I feel great, reduce anxiety, sleep like a baby and wake up ready to go. I’ll have more deserts, eat some fried foods but won’t stray too far from what works because I don’t have a very strong stomach so eating pretty clean, non processed foods is important for me – the fried, heavy foods, dairy and stuff like that just gives me trouble.
I write and schedule a weekly newsletter in advance so I’m not stressed anymore about Sundays. I’m running about 3-4 weeks ahead. It’s all automated thru @activecampaign
Same with the podcast. I record episodes in bunches. From there I have an editor and service who handles all the production, distribution, show notes, audiograms, etc. I book all the guests myself.
All appointments, coaching clients (I take on only 5 at a time, I’m expensive but worth it), insurance clients, investment meetings, kids activities, everything goes on my calendar. I use @calendlyhq and it’s been a tremendous help.
I build in several hours of open space each day.
In Health –
G
